Tag Archives: san juan islands

July 7 – Montague to West Sound

Posted on by
Reply
Trincomali Channel looking north

We left Montague Harbour and headed south in Trincomali Channel. This is the view looking north in the channel.

Okay, okay. I’m late in finishing the posts from our cruise a couple of weeks ago. Two more posts yet to do, and I’ll do one today and will get to the last one as soon as possible. We’ve just been too busy with eye doctor appointments, spotty WiFi service, and other distractions…and I haven’t been able to get to the blog as much as I hoped.

So, back to our cruise… We left Montague on Saturday, July 7th. We planned to head to Ganges and take in the Saltspring Saturday Market (http://www.saltspringmarket.com) before returning to the States. The Saturday Market in Ganges is quite an event, and we look forward to opportunities to be in Ganges on Saturdays during the summer so we can go to the market as well as visit other favorite shopping venues in Ganges.

It was calm in the anchorage at Montague Harbour in the morning, but afternoon wind predictions encouraged us to skip the Saturday Market and head for the San Juans instead. We have to be back for Jim’s July 10th eye exam in Seattle, so didn’t want to be caught by weather and end up too far away from Anacortes. We’ll be sure to plan our cruising in September so that we’ll be able to visit the Saltspring Saturday Market!

We decided to bypass all the currents and whirlpools where Haro Strait meets Boundary Pass, so rather than returning through Swanson Channel, we headed south in Trincomali Channel to Navy Channel, then through Plumper Sound and across Boundary Pass — which is a direct route into the San Juans through Spring Passage, then Deer Harbor and Pole Pass. This route also bypasses all the whirlpools around Speiden Island.

BC ferry leaving Active Pass

This morning, we encountered only one B.C. ferry coming through Active Pass.

We decided to time our passage to hit Boundary Pass at slack tide, to minimize the whirlpools and tide races. We had the current with us almost all the way, as we left Montague at 0800 to catch the 0900 slack in Boundary Pass. Everything turned to ebb (including Pole Pass), and we got a great lift from the current.

Boundary Pass Gulf Islands

It was calm all the way across Boundary Pass. This view is looking back toward the Gulf Islands.

Once we got into the bay outside Deer Harbor, we were able to power down and idle to call U. S. Customs for our clearance to return to the U.S. With our Nexus passes, we were allowed to clear over the cell phone. Since it was Saturday, we encountered lots of pleasure boats in Harney Channel.

Boundary Pass Orcas Island

We plotted our course from Boundary Pass to enter the San Juan Islands through Spring Passage. This view is looking ahead toward the San Juans, with Orcas Island on the left.

As we passed West Sound, we decided to check the Double Island anchorage in West Sound, and found only two other boats there. So, we decided to stop there for the night, rather than continuing on to Blind Bay. Another powerboat and 3 more sailboats came in later in the afternoon…more boats than we’ve ever seen in this anchorage.

It was relatively calm and sunny for the afternoon and evening. We were glad to have U.S. Internet service again so we could get caught up on bank stuff and emails. We fixed BLTs on rye bread for dinner. We don’t usually have bacon onboard, but made an exception and brought some along this time, with the intention of fixing a nice breakfast somewhere…and since we hadn’t fixed such a meal, this was a good way to use the bacon!

July 4 – At Reid Harbor

Posted on by
Reply

We woke to a rosy sunrise and cold morning (45 degrees). Clouds filled in later, but cleared by midday and it was quite pleasant. A great day to try out our new Superwinch to launch the dinghy and take a hike!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The new winch works GREAT! It’s wonderful to be able to push a button and hoist the dinghy. Not too noisy either. We are quite pleased with our new arrangement.

The hike from the State Park (link: Stuart Island Marine Park) at the head of Reid Harbor to the Turn Point Lighthouse is abut 4.5 miles round trip. This is one of our favorite boating hikes, and we’ve been doing it since the late 1970s when we first started boating in the San Juan Islands. Much of the hike is on the main county road on Stuart Island. It’s usually dry and dusty, but after the past couple of rainy days, we encountered several places where we had to get around gooey mud and mud puddles. Plus, the county had recently put down large chunks of crushed rock, which was good for the ATVs that use the road, but not so good for hiking!

We found some familiar things as we reached the top of the hill: Stuart Island’s school, the Stuart Island museum (formerly their one-room school house), and the Boundary Pass Trader’s Treasure Chest with lots of souvenir clothing that they sell on the I.O.U. system. We found a couple of shirts to buy.

We also found a wonderful display of finely made wooden bowls, being sold by Alex Olson of Stuart Island Woodworking. Alex lives and goes to school in Seattle, but spends summers with his family on Stuart Island. He uses mostly native wood found on Stuart Island, and his work looks great. He plans to display his bowls for sale in this location through the middle of August. Alex said he can create custom bowls by request. If you’re interested, please leave a comment in the “Leave A Reply” box below, and we will send you his contact information.

Once we reached the Turn Point Lighthouse, we discovered a new addition. The Turn Point Lighthouse Preservation Society (http://www.tplps.org) has restored one of the buildings on the site and has opened an historical museum there. It’s a great museum with a very thorough display of historical events about the lighthouse and the lightkeepers, and we enjoyed browsing through all the artifacts that are on display. While we were there, a host was available to answer questions.

Back at Phoenix, we enjoyed being able to hoist our dinghy back to the boat deck easily with our new electric winch, and settled in for a quiet evening.

July 3 – At Reid Harbor

Posted on by
Reply
Reid Harbor in the morning

By late morning, the sun had come out and many boats had left the anchorage.

Kayaks in Reid Harbor

Four of the many kayaks we watched come and go in Reid Harbor.

Schooner in Reid Harbor

It was fun to watch the schooner “Odyessy” come into the harbor.

Aft deck of schooner in Reid Harbor

A closer view of the aft deck and cockpit of the schooner “Odyssey.”

Reid Harbor sunset

By the time the sun set in Reid Harbor, the winds had died and it became a wonderfully calm and quiet evening.

Moon at Reid Harbor

What can be more beautiful than a full moon shining over the water in a calm anchorage…it was gorgeous!

Heavy rain all night and into the morning made this a good day for lounging and reading. Cool and windy too, with temps only in the 50s.

We were anchored on the south side of the harbor, a bit away from the head of the bay…so we were able to enjoy watching boats come and go. There is also a lot of kayak activity here, as the beach at the head of the bay is sandy and offers an easy place for getting in and out of kayaks. Also, the Washington State Park here offers a great place for camping, and many of the guide companies bring groups here.

As we crossed San Juan Channel yesterday, I received a message on my iPhone from Verizon Wireless that my phone had been picked up by a Canadian cell tower. I had forgotten that as soon as we reach the northern part of the San Juans…even if we’re not in Canadian waters…we can get either a U. S or Canadian cell connection…so it is a good idea either to get a Canadian roaming plan or turn off data. Since we don’t plan to be cruising in Canada, we didn’t get a roaming plan, and I decided to turn off the data on my phone and go without the Internet and email. The roaming rates while in Canada are pretty steep. In addition, we get only a marginal 3G signal here in Reid Harbor.

The sky cleared later in the day, and we enjoyed sun for the rest of the afternoon and had a clear evening. When the tide changed, our boat turned to face the setting sun, and we got blasted by the bright sun. We covered the windshield with our winter Sunbrella cover to avoid being blinded.

It was the perfect night for an easy dinner of vegie burgers and mandarin oranges.